Published author Means straddles creativity and pedagogy

At the end of the Fall 2011 semester, Evan Schlaich '14 compiled a list of his professor's musings that he shared with his entire Freshmen Writing Seminar class. The class? Intro to the Apocalyptic Landscape with Visiting Associate Professor of English David Means. The list's title? "Shit David Means says."

Schlaich's quotes range from Means' thoughts about literature and fiction, like "There's a certain authority in the printed page," to his ideas about existence, like "I know a plumber: He's a fascist, he's a nut, he's intriguing. I talk to him every chance I get. The whole world is against him," or to his ideas about history and culture: "Abraham Lincoln was a prophet."

"Some of those statements are hilariously out of context," contended Means. But it says something about the Vassar professor and esteemed short-story writer that he made enough statements worth quoting to fill three and a half pages.

Joe Lovizio '14, who was also in the class, said, "He would just say things, nonstop. He was like a philosopher, and made me think about literature and reading in a way I never thought about before."

At Vassar, Means teaches freshmen writing seminars and creative writing. Professionally, almost 50 of his short stories have been published in various outlets, including Esquire, The New Yorker, Harper's and the Paris Review, among others.

He has also written four collections of short stories: A Quick Kiss of Redemption, Assorted Fire Events, The Secret Goldfish, and most recently, The Spot. The Spot was selected as a 2010 Notable Book by The New York Times, and won an O. Henry Prize. He is also in the process of working on a currently untitled novel.

Most of his work is dark fiction, centered on the United States and the American landscape. The Spot is a collection of 13 stories, all of which revolve around a spot, a particular narrative center. For example, in one story, it's an old blacksmith shed in which three men tweeze apart the intricacies of a botched bank robbery. And in another, it's a park on the Hudson River, where two lovers sense their affair is about to come to an end.

"Part of being an American writer is this mad, crazy, dark unspoken history we have. I'm kind of into that," Means said. "When I'm writing, I try to tell the stories that need to be told, those that would otherwise be unspoken and then gone forever."

"Professor Means is really into old, weird America," explained Lovizio, "and always talked about how literature takes you places that you don't want to go, so you can see them."

Means originally hails from Michigan, where some of his stories are set. As an undergraduate, he attended the University of Wooster, and he then went on to Columbia University, where he received his MFA in poetry. Means started writing poetry at the College of Wooster, where he also studied medicine.

"One day I threw in the towel and said, ‘Okay, I got to be creative,'" Means said about his undergraduate experience. But that's not to say Means has completely abandoned his background in science.

"I'm always trying to tell students inspiration comes from a lot of different sources. It's not only about reading literature, but it's about looking at art, looking at photography, listening to music, all of that other stuff," Means noted. "Even biology and medicine can inform your creative process."

Means's influences include writers such as Anton Chekhov, William Faulkner, Alice Munro, but also more untraditional artists and groups, one being the popular band Radiohead. "Pop music and short stories are connected and I'm always saying this; there are similarities between a song and a story in the structure," he said.

In general, all aspects of pop culture fascinate Means, and one of the reasons why he's such a sought-after professor is his approaches to teaching and writing that are multi-disciplinary, multi-faceted and timely.

Lovizio said, "I loved the way he encompassed all aspects of American culture in his class. Sometimes, we'd listen to a song at the beginning of class. Other times we'd talk about art, or philosophy."

Although Lovizio, Schlaich and Means's other students rave about his influence on their work, Means noted that another one of his inspirations are his students. "To me there's like a symbiotic energy in teaching; my students' creativity feeds me. It's kind of selfish but that's the way it is," Means said.

"Writing is just as hard after doing it for years as it is when you're just starting, so in class I feel strongly that we're all in the same boat, trying to find stories, shifting though different ways of expressing ourselves on the page," he said.